‘Reverberating damage’: The sinister global impact of overturning Roe v Wade is just beginning

The US has a long tradition of charitable giving, and when it comes to abortion rights, that is a double-edged sword, writes Borzou Daragahi

The US has often, over the decades, been seen as a trendsetter on touchy social issues, including the rights of women and minorities (Reuters)

Women’s health advocates have been pushing the east African nation of Malawi to reform its abortion laws for years. Currently, the procedure is only available to women whose pregnancy threatens their life, and in a nation of 20 million, an estimated 12,000 women a year die from illegal abortions.

New proposed rule changes are advancing, despite setbacks and stiff resistance. But following the reversal of Roe v Wade on another continent, new abortion legislation heading to parliament could be imperilled. Malawi receives an average of $180m per year in US aid. And the government and lawmakers may decide that liberalising abortion laws could risk alienating their patron in the future.

“We hope to see legislation going to parliament,” says Sarah Shaw, advocacy director at MSI Reproductive Choices, a London-based organisation that provides women’s health services across the world. “We are concerned that the Roe v Wade ruling is going to affect the passage of the bill because the Malawi government does receive quite a bit of its budget from the US.”